


How to Lose Your Heart in Five Minutes or Fewer

by imaginarycircus



Category: Hawaii Five-0 (2010)
Genre: Fluff, M/M, puppy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-07-01
Updated: 2011-07-01
Packaged: 2017-10-20 22:03:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,529
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/217540
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/imaginarycircus/pseuds/imaginarycircus
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Steve finds a stray dog and then finds something even better.</p>
            </blockquote>





	How to Lose Your Heart in Five Minutes or Fewer

**Author's Note:**

  * For [esteefee](https://archiveofourown.org/users/esteefee/gifts).



> This is a birthday ficlet for esteefee who requested Steve getting a dog. ♥ Thanks to stellarmeadow for looking it over, quick like a bunny.
> 
>   
> (banner by azziria)

Steve’s never had a pet, not even a goldfish, but he likes animals well enough. He can’t bear to see them mistreated. He’s just not used to them. So the black dog he finds waiting for him when he comes up onto the beach from his morning swim—is perplexing.

“Hey, there,” he says and walks by awkward and unsure whether to extend a hand or not. He’s a little afraid of being bitten.

The dog perks up his ears at Steve’s voice, but doesn’t move. Must belong to a neighbor, though Steve has never seen him before.

Steve goes inside to make himself breakfast and forgets about the dog until he comes back outside to eat on the lana'i. He’s made himself a large omelet and as he eats the dog sits and watches him. Steve can’t figure out what sort of dog he is, knows they have breeds. He’s jet black, but his tail feathers like a golden retriever’s.

He looks a little skinny, not rail thin, but too narrow for his frame. Steve walks to the edge of the lana’i and sets down his plate with the remains of his breakfast.

“You hungry? Come on, boy.”

The dog perks up again, but doesn’t move forward. Steve leaves the plate and goes inside to take a shower. When he comes back downstairs he can see the dog is lying at the edge of the lana’i and the plate is clean.

“You were hungry, huh?” Steve knows enough not to loom over a strange animal and he sits down a few feet away. He keeps his eyes downcast and he waits to see what the dog does. He’s pretty sure you’re not supposed to stare them down. So he waits. The dog doesn’t move.

“Steve?” Danny comes out from the house. It’s later than Steve thought, or Danny’s early, which is possible.

“Shhhh, don’t scare him.”

“What are you doing?” Danny looks down at him, a fond smile on his face. “Are you trying to make friends?” Danny leans down and holds out his hand. “Here, boy.” He makes a kissing noise and the dog pops up and trots right over to Danny and lets Danny pet him.

“How?” Steve splutters.

Danny shrugs and smiles and scratches the dog behind his ears. “Doesn’t have a collar. Do you recognize him?”

“No, never seen him before.” Steve stretches his hand out, carefully for the dog to sniff. Then he pats the dog on the head, Pat. Pat. Pat.

Danny laughs. “What are you doing, you goof? He’s not gonna go off like a bomb. Actually, you’re better with live ordnance. Didn’t you ever have a dog when you were a—uh, I take it that’s a no.”

“What do we do with him?” Steve looks up at Danny, who seems to have all the answers.

“Call animal control. They’ll pick him up.” Danny takes out his phone and starts to call dispatch.

“No. I don’t want him to go to the pound.” Steve scratches the dog behind his ear the way Danny did and the dog closes his eyes as if he’s enjoying it.

“What are you going to do? Keep him? Do you have any idea how much work a dog is? They can’t be left alone for too long. They’re expensive. And you’ve never had a dog before. You can’t just take in a stray.”

“Why not?” Steve says.

“He might belong to someone. He might be lost. There could be some poor kid out there who’s heart broken because Fido is missing.”

“Does anyone actually name their dog Fido?”

“Not the point, Steven.” Danny sighs then looks down at the dog and says, “Sit.”

The dog sits and wags his tail merrily.

“See, someone trained this dog. Someone probably misses this guy.”

“OK, I’ll check with animal control, but I don’t want to take him to the pound. He can come to work with me.”

“That animal is not riding in my car.”

“S’okay. I’ll drive my truck.”

“Jesus fucking Christ. You’re going to drive around a dog in a pick up truck? All you need is a shot gun.”

“I have three,” Steve says.

“Steven, you can’t just take in every stray you come across.”

“Why not? It worked with you.” Steve manages to dodge Danny’s punch, but the dog gets excited and jumps up and barks. He knows how to sit and he knows horseplay when he sees it. Steve likes him more all the time.

“Come on,” Steve says and the dog trots around the side of the house and hops right up into the truck when Steve opens the door. Danny insists on riding with them in case the dog goes nuts and causes Steve to drive off a cliff. Nothing happens except the dog rides with his face out the widow and slobbers on Danny’s shoulder.

Kono goes a little overboard when she sees the dog.

“Puppy!” She squeaks and the dog scampers right over to her and practically bounces along with her. She smushes the dog's face and kisses his nose. His tail thwaps the floor like a jackhammer. Then she gets him some water in a rinsed out take out container and he follows her around like she’s some kind of goddess and Steve is a little jealous that the dog likes everyone else better.

Animal Control has no reports of a missing dog who looks like theirs, and right there Steve is in trouble, because he’s thinking in possessives. But why can’t Five-O have a dog? Maybe they can even call him Five-O because it sounds like Fido and it’s so dumb it makes Steve grin. He goes into Danny’s office to tell him the dumb joke, and he knows Danny will give him shit, but it’s part of the thing they do.

Danny is on the phone. Five-O comes trotting in and sits down next to Steve who reaches down and pats him without fear or worry. His heart trips over itself a little.

“That was Marvin’s owner,” Danny says.

“Who’s Marvin?” The dog’s ears prick way up and he wags his tail and Steve feels utterly betrayed.

“That,” Danny points at Five-O, “is Marvin. He’s a black golden retriever and he belongs to a little girl who has been crying since he got spooked at the beach two weeks ago and got lost.”

“How did you find them? Animal Control said—“

“I checked Craigslist.” Danny gives him a look that says DUH without the eloquence of saying it. “They’re on their way over to pick him up.”

Steve stays in his office while the family picks up Marvin. He’s never been very good at good-byes and they always kind of sucker punch you no matter what you do.

The rest of the day passes in a blur of nothing much and Steve has to drive Danny back to his place, because Danny’s car is there.

“Come on. I’ll buy you a beer,” Danny says and pulls Steve into his own house.

“This is my house.”

“I know it is. And yet I buy all the beer.” Danny loosens his tie and unbuttons his top shirt button. “You look like you lost your best friend.”

“No, I—it’s dumb.” Steve scrubs his hands over his face and shakes his head. He can’t tell Danny how attached he got to the dog in like five minutes.

“Look, sometimes love hits you right away and there isn’t a thing you can do about it. That happened with me and Grace. The second she was born. Boom. I was gone.”

Steve shakes his head and goes outside where the plate is still sitting on the edge of the lana’i. He undoes his boots and strips off his socks and walks down to the edge of the water. Danny follows.

“Come on, Steven. You can get a dog if you want one.” Danny stands carefully back from the edge of the tide. Steve lets it rolls over his feet and seep up his pant legs.

“It’s not that so much as I just want someone, something alive. Someone besides me, you know?” Steve is saying more than he usually does and it’s like he isn’t sure whether to reach out to the stray dog, or not, all over again.

“What the hell am I? Chopped liver?” Danny is all mock outrage swinging his half full beer bottle in little arcs of discontent.

“No, but you’re not going to sleep at the foot of my bed and go swimming with me in the mornings either.”

“You’re right. If I’m going to sleep in your bed I’ll take up a whole side like a normal person. And under no circumstances will I ever be swimming at any time.”

Steve is grinning now and he pulls Danny into the surf and kisses him. Danny drops his beer and his shoes are ruined, but he doesn’t seem to mind.

Turns out Danny takes up more than his fair share of the bed and eventually does swim with Steve, but he complains about it before, during and after and Steve wouldn’t have it any other way.


End file.
